The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-05-07

twisting the fine thread swiftly round her
"pearl" pins, and instructing one or two
children in the mysteries of whole" and
"half- stitches" Lace absorbs their fac
ulties SO completely that there is little
time for cleanliness, or for any but the
simplest and upthriftiest cooking. The
men are farm laborers, earning eight
shillings a week in winter and nine in
summer; but then rent does not exceed q
shilling week, the gardens are large,
and most OF them manage to keep pig.
Eight o'clock strikes from the Dutch
clock in the corner, and an elderly dame,
whose eyes only allow her to make black
lace, the threads Of which stand out clear
ly on the yellow parchment, turns her
bobbins back on either side, and pins
cloth over her days work, saying she is
going up to prayers at Muster SCOTS,
and who else be s-comin'?" Two or three
of the more serious minded follow her,
and reaching the parsonage, sit down in
the kitchen, where they are kindly well
coined by Betty the cook, Lizzie the
housemaid and John Brangwin the man.
servant, who presently ushers them into
large room, where the thin, dignifed
old clergyman, In knee-breeches with sill
yer buckles, black silk stockings, and
velvet skull cap, reads and expounds the
Scriptures at his family worship, which
lasts a full hour, and lis trial of patience
to the little grandchildren who are pres
ent
He is very deaf, this grave and rever-
end divine, and SO in consequence rather
silent, though he perceives when others
are amused, and sometimes asks what
provokes their mirth, though when it is
explained to him he never designs TO utter
more than the exclamation, "Pshawr'
One autumn day when sons and daugh-
tiers with their olive branches sat around
his table, a sudden crash was heard, and
on looking out of the window they saw
that an old apple-tree, over-laden with
ripe fruit, had fallen to the ground. 1t
was strange occurrence, and we can
sympathize with the feeling Of the father
and pastor when he expressed the solemn
wish that such might be his own end
to Lreak down in old age under the weight
of good fruit.
Some of the turmoil and excitement of
those troublesome times had penetrated
into these quiet regions, for Louis XVIII.
and his family were then in exile, and
lived at Hartwell Park, between Ayles-
bury and Aston Sanford. The country
folk were in the habit of seeing them
often in their rides and drives, and had
come to know that the watchwords of the
party which had driven them out of their
native land were Liberty, fraternity and
Equality.
Those three words, SO often naisappre-
hended, bore practical solution in Mr..
Scott's household; his opinions were of
the stamp now called evangelical, and
the man who held them among his high,
dry, and careless clerical brethren was
then m arked, and even taboosd per-
sonage. They would have no dealings
with him; and sometimes the feeling was
reciprocal, and he kept aloof from them.
Such one was in that earliest quarter of
the nineteenth century stiokler for lib
erty of conscience, while he treated az
brethren beloved, on footing of perfect
equality, those who like himself trod
firmly in the Masters footsteps. Thus it
came to pass that the barber from Great
Risborough, who dressed Mr.. Seott's wig
and kept it in order, was also an admirer
of his sermons, walked over every Sunday
to hear him, and was always respected
guest at the rector's Sunday dinner
table.
Preaching the Gospel. visiting the sick,
and instructing all who wished to learn
the way Of righteousness, did not, how
ever, fill up his time; many hours of every
day were passed in his study in revising
and adding to his great Commentary,
new edition of which came out shortly
before his death. A beloved daughter,
who was the wife of a neighboring cler-
gyman used to help him in correcting
the proofs; and when, with her assistance,
he felt that the days work was over, he
INDUCED in little gardening, the only
recreation he allowed himself.
On Sundays he walked to church in
his gown, cassock, long curled wig, and
shovel hat, in which apparel he present
ed most venerable appearance. In his
will he left copy of his Commentary to
John Brangwin, his faithful servant, who
toward the end of his life became an in.
mate of an almshouse at Chaynies, a
lovely village in another part of the coun-
ty, of which Mr.. Scott's son-in-law be.
came rector after the old mans death.
Among the life-lessons he had learned
and always seen practiced at Aston Sand
ford was respect for the Sabbath, and he
was wont TO tell those who visited and
drew him out on the subject of the ear.
lier days spent in his reverend masters
service that "he never had anything
cooked O. Sabbath day; Muster Scott
never had"
He was figure OF old times, and lived
in what may still be called a model par
ish, we'll worth an hours journey from
London, for those who care to spend a
day in wandering through scenery as ex-